Aussie mulls use of cruise ship to track whalers

**alphakitty** · 12-18-2007, 11:06 AM

SMH | Tuesday, 18 December 2007

Australia plans to spy on the Japanese whaling fleet using an armed P&O cruise ship, with a lesser role for the Australian Defence Force.

High-level talks have focused on leasing the commercial vessel, Oceanic Viking, which has a re-enforced hull to cut through ice, a crew trained for polar conditions and "super-telephoto" lenses to record the whale slaughter.

Sources said the ship would also carry video equipment, and the images would be used in Australian international court action planned against the Japanese whale hunt, the largest for 20 years. The images would complement a series of aerial surveys on whale populations, to begin soon.

Under plans being developed, the Oceanic Viking would have two .50-calibre machine-guns manned by a customs boarding party to supply the "muscle", while working with a civilian P&O crew. It is highly unlikely the guns would be fired or Japanese ships boarded. The 105-metre vessel has already been used to chase foreign poachers of the Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean.

"The bottom line is you have got to get close to really see what is going on," one source said. Satellite technology would be of limited use against whalers and unmanned aerial vehicles would be unlikely to have sufficient range. The imminent Japanese Government-backed hunt aims to slaughter 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales. For the first time since 1963, humpbacks - 50 of them - are being targeted.

The Federal Opposition has warned that using the military in pursuing Japanese whalers could damage diplomatic relations.

But the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday accused the former Howard government of doing nothing to save the endangered whales. He said nobody took seriously Japan's claim that it was conducting scientific research. The whale meat obtained is sold to Japanese consumers.

Asked if the Government planned to use the resources of the Australian military, Mr Rudd made it plain that non-military "assets" would also be employed.

"I'm fully aware of the depth and strength of our bilateral diplomatic relationship with Japan," he said, adding that Australia's anti-whaling efforts would be considered, reasonable and balanced.

The Herald has learnt of a series of discussions on the use of the Oceanic Viking in recent days ahead of cabinet consideration of stronger Australian action. Mr Rudd's spokeswoman declined to comment on use of the ship before an official announcement of the Government's intentions.

Customs and Coastal Surveillance will co-ordinate operations to monitor the Japanese whalers through an umbrella body, the Border Protection Command.

PC-3 Orion aircraft are expected to take off from South Australia, but the distance will limit their role to only a couple of hours of direct observation. Navy frigates, with helicopters, are an option closer to Australia rather than 4000 kilometres south in the whaling grounds, where the Oceanic Viking can operate.